TEMPE, AZ- As the collegiate landscape continues to change with the destruction of the Pac 12

and the creation of super conferences, one thing has remained the same- Arizona State and
Arizona hate each other; and will continue to hate each other as both teams have shifted to the
Big 12 further continuing the 123-year-old Territorial Cup rivalry.

Colby Kitson, an offensive assistant for Arizona State football, talked about the rivalry's
importance to ASU culture and fans.

“Since I was a kid. I’ve always been an ASU football fan since I could remember, and I always
remember the last game of the season being the most important. Once I learned that the
territorial cup is the oldest trophy in football- it made me even more hyped up about the game,”
Kitson said.

Although a new path is being forged for both Arizona State and Arizona with their transition into
the Big 12, the two teams’ Pac 12 history can never be forgotten and in fact, could be
contrasted to determine which program was more successful in their respective stints in the Pac
12.

When comparing both programs' success the easiest statistic to approach is always records
and streaks. The Arizona Wildcats lead the overall matchup record 51-45-1 and are on a current
win streak of two in the series. Arizona also boasts the longest win streak with 11 in a row from
1932 to 1948. Reynoldo Rinen, a University of Arizona student, and football fan talked about the
Wildcats’ recent success.

“Everyone knows ASU and U of A [Arizona] are huge rivals and ASU had gotten the better of us
in the late 2010s so it’s nice to have a decent squad to put up numbers on ASU,” Rinen said.

Arizona State holds by far the better conference hardware with 17 total conference titles
including seven in the Border Conference (1931-1962), seven in the WAC conference (1962-
1977) and three in the Pac 12 (1978-2023). Arizona trails with only six conference titles
including three in the Border Conference (1931-1961), two in the WAC conference (1862-1977)
and only one in the Pac 12 in 1993.

Moving beyond team accolades, a program's ability to produce NFL talent consistently has also
been a big indicator of program success. The Sun Devils roll the Wildcats with 254 total draft
picks dating back to 1941 compared to Arizona’s 183 picks dating back to 1939. Both teams are
without Heisman winners

ASU also boasts more bowl appearances with 32 compared to Arizona’s 21. The Sun Devils are
also more successful in those games with a 0.469 win rate compared to the Wildcats’ 0.429.

But no matter which team wins more games in a season, it’s who holds the Territorial Cup at the
end of the year that some fans believe determines the team’s success. Kitson spoke about ASU
fan’s passion for the rivalry.

“ASU could go 0-11 and beat the team down south and fans would call it a successful season,”
Kitson said.